Medicare

Hospitals in rural America face a dire financial forecast. The government has an incentive plan to help them keep their emergency departments open, while shutting their inpatient services.

Health & Safety

Federal fix for rural hospitals gets few takers so far

5:00am January 10, 2024

Just 18 facilities were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals so far. Advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are needed to widen the reach and keep health care in rural communities.

Terminally ill hospice resident Evelyn Breuning, 91, right, sits with music therapist Jen Dunlap in her bed in August 2009 in Lakewood, Colo. The nonprofit hospice, the second oldest in the United States, accepts the terminally ill regardless of their ability to pay, although most residents are covered by Medicare.

Health & Safety

What is hospice care? 6 myths about this end-of-life option

1:52pm December 28, 2023

by Diba Mohtasham

Recently ex-President Jimmy Carter went into hospice, which often is for patients in the last stages of incurable diseases. Contrary to popular belief, starting hospice doesn't mean giving up on life.

Health & Safety

Medicare open enrollment ends today. Ignoring the deadline could cost you

1:40pm December 07, 2023

by Susan Jaffe

As the period for changing health plans ends, many seniors are tuning out. They could wind up with a surprise next year: higher costs and reduced access to health care providers.

People gathered at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in July at a rally held by the Center for Medicare Advocacy. They protested denials and delays in private Medicare Advantage plans.

Health & Safety

Uncle Sam wants you to help stop insurers' bogus Medicare Advantage sales tactics

8:59am November 30, 2023

by Susan Jaffe

The Biden administration is cracking down on deceptive or misleading Medicare Advantage and drug plan sales tactics. And it's counting on beneficiaries to help catch offenders.

Open enrollment for Medicare begins Sunday and ads like this billboard inside California's John Wayne Airport are popping up. Marketing of Medicare plans is subject to new, stricter federal regulations this year.

Health & Safety

Medicare shoppers often face a barrage of unsolicited calls and aggressive ads

11:14am October 16, 2023

Medicare's annual open enrollment period began Oct. 15, allowing seniors to choose new plans. New rules this year are supposed to crack down on misleading marketing but buyers should still beware.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House event on August 29 where they announced the list of the first 10 medicines targeted for Medicare negotiations.

Health & Safety

All in: Drugmakers say yes, they'll negotiate with Medicare on price, so reluctantly

5:00am October 04, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

Despite at least nine lawsuits against the government, all companies whose drugs are up for Medicare price negotiation will come to the bargaining table.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and other members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus could force a federal government shutdown Oct. 1. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and prevention would be affected.

What happens to health programs if the federal government shuts down?

10:26pm September 27, 2023

by Julie Rovner

Medicare and Medicaid are mandatory spending programs and that keeps them relatively safe in the early days of the shutdown, but 42% of the Department of Health's staff will be furloughed.

About 12 million Americans qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, and they face relentless red tape accessing health care. A bipartisan fix that could help them is in the works.

Health & Safety

She has Medicare and Medicaid. So why should it take 18 months to get a wheelchair?

5:00am September 21, 2023

About 12 million Americans are known as "dual eligibles" because they need both Medicare and Medicaid. A bipartisan bill offers hope to cut through the tangle of red tape that often ensnares them.

President Biden hugs Steven Hadfield, a Medicare recipient who takes expensive drugs, at an event on prescription drug costs at the White House on Aug. 29.

Here are the first 10 drugs that Medicare will target for price cuts

4:32pm August 29, 2023

The government will negotiate new prices for the commonly prescribed drugs, but the cuts won't take effect until 2026. In the meantime, drugmakers are fighting the negotiations with lawsuits.

Thomas Greene with his wife, Bluizer, at their home in Oxford, Pennsylvania. After Thomas had a procedure on his leg, the anesthesia providers billed Medicare late, and he was sent to collections for the debt.

Health & Safety

They billed Medicare late for his anesthesia. He went to collections for a $3,000 tab

4:36pm July 28, 2023

by Phil Galewitz

Medicare was supposed to cover the entire cost of his procedure. But the anesthesia provider failed to file its claims in a timely manner and billed the patient instead.